European Commission

While one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Denmark can only lay claim to 0.5% of worldwide research and development. But the Danish government is resolute in its drive to make the country a global leader in high technology. Conditions must be right to encourage foreign companies to locate their research and innovation activities in Denmark and to entice highly qualified researchers from around the world.

If outstanding young researchers are flies, then the European Investigator Award (EURYI) is the honey pot. Created in 2003 by the European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs), in association with the European Science Foundation, these deliciously tempting grants are designed to attract the best possible future scientists - and encourage them to stick around.

You arrive in France, obtain some hideous passport photos, locate your local préfecture, banque and agence immobilière, when... Oops! You've forgotten your birth certificate! As one of the many demands made by a frequently burdensome administration, not presenting all the correct documents can mean long delays and wasted hours. To ensure that researchers spend more time in the lab and less filling in forms, in 1998 the Alfred Kastler Foundation (FnAK) decided to launch the Guest Researcher Card.

Who had ever imagined exploring Mars in Brussels or encountering werewolves in Besançon? How many people had expected to dive into a Greek Cretaquarium, or experience a volcanic eruption in Germany? And what about travelling back in time to ancient Naples, or into the future to play chess with a robot in Istanbul? While all of these events might have once seemed far-fetched, for those attending the Researchers' Night on Friday 22 September they were a firm reality.

Guo Jun, from Tianjin in China, was delighted to be awarded funding under the Marie Curie scheme Transfer of Knowledge (ToK) to carry out research at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland. Whether developing the research potential of an organisation or creating long-lasting partnerships between the worlds of academia and business, ToK generates enormous benefits.